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Nokia 8 Sirocco Smartphone Review

A smartphone for fans of design? The Nokia 8 Sirocco has an unusual name and unusual looks. Can the high-end phone please the crowd or is mainly interesting for fans of design? Let us find out in our review.
Nokia 8 Sirocco

The name Sirocco actually designates the wind that regularly blows sand from the Sahara Desert into Central Europe. In the case of the Nokia, however, it stands for legendary high-quality designer phones. The Nokia 8800 Sirocco is still being traded online for high prices. Ever since Nokia started making Android smartphones, fans have been impatiently waiting for a Sirocco model - and here it is: The Nokia 8 Sirocco is available online for a price of $600 and has an unusual stainless-steel case, a camera with a Zeiss lens and pure Android. However, it is still equipped with Qualcomm's previous SoC generation. Can it keep up with current flagship devices?

Today's comparison devices are the normal Nokia 8, the Sony Xperia XZ2, the Motorola Moto Z2 Force, the Huawei P10 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S9.

Nokia 8 Sirocco (8 Series)
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) 8 x 2.5 GHz, Kryo 280
Graphics adapter
Memory
6 GB 
, LPPDDR 4X
Display
5.50 inch 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixel 534 PPI, capacitive touchscreen, P-OLED, Corning Gorilla Glas 5, glossy: yes
Storage
128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash, 128 GB 
, 114 GB free
Connections
1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, Audio Connections: audio output via USB-C port, 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, barometer, compass, ANT+, USB-OTG
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5.0, 2G 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900; 3G 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100; LTE 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 28(700), 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500), LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 7.5 x 140.9 x 72.97 ( = 0.3 x 5.55 x 2.87 in)
Battery
12.4 Wh, 3260 mAh Lithium-Ion, wireless charging (Qi), QuickCharge 4.0, Talk time 3G (according to manufacturer): 22 h, Standby 3G (according to manufacturer): 495 h
Operating System
Android 8.1 Oreo
Camera
Primary Camera: 12 MPix f/​1.7, phase detection AF, Dual LED flash, Videos @2160p/​30fps (main camera); 13.0MP, f/​2.6, depth of field, telephoto lens (second camera)
Secondary Camera: 5 MPix f/2.0, 1.4 µm
Additional features
Speakers: single speaker on bottom edge, Keyboard: virtual keyboard, QuickCharge power supply, USB cable, headset, audio adapter, SIM tool, cover, support, 24 Months Warranty, bandwidth (download/upload): 600Mbps/​150Mbps (LTE); SAR value: 0.54 W/kg (head); 1.54 W/kg (body) IP67 certified, fanless
Weight
176 g ( = 6.21 oz / 0.39 pounds), Power Supply: 83 g ( = 2.93 oz / 0.18 pounds)
Price
749 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case – very stable stainless-steel case

Around the turn of the century, Nokia was famous for constantly creating new form factors for mobile phones that were still easy to use. This way, every user could find the right phone for them. The Nokia 8800 Sirocco was Nokia's 2006 spearhead. It has a sliding mechanism and high-quality metal case. The Nokia 8 Sirocco is meant to take up this tradition of unusual but high-quality designs: It has a stainless-steel case with narrow sides and looks very attractive. The strongly curved glass at the front is a real eye-catcher and even the back is covered in glass, which is good news for the strength of the antennas and looks elegant. However, the glass also shows up fingerprints and greasy marks very easily.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco weighs 176 grams (~6.2 oz) and has a 16:9 form factor, which by now can almost be considered unusual. Therefore, the device is shorter and slightly wider than the comparison devices. The phone is nice to handle, and the workmanship feels very good. The only color currently available is black with some chrome features.

The device is resistant to pressure and cannot be warped, giving it a high-quality feel. The case has an IP67 certification, which means it is protected against dust and water at a depth of up to one meter (~3 ft). 

Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Nokia 8 Sirocco

Size Comparison

153 mm / 6.02 inch 72 mm / 2.83 inch 11.1 mm / 0.437 inch 198 g0.4365 lbs155.8 mm / 6.13 inch 76 mm / 2.99 inch 5.99 mm / 0.2358 inch 143 g0.3153 lbs153.5 mm / 6.04 inch 74.2 mm / 2.92 inch 7 mm / 0.2756 inch 165 g0.3638 lbs151.5 mm / 5.96 inch 73.7 mm / 2.9 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 160 g0.3527 lbs147.7 mm / 5.81 inch 68.7 mm / 2.7 inch 8.5 mm / 0.3346 inch 163 g0.3594 lbs140.9 mm / 5.55 inch 72.97 mm / 2.87 inch 7.5 mm / 0.2953 inch 176 g0.388 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity – high storage capacity, no MHL

With 128 GB of fast UFS 2.1 storage and 6 GB of RAM, the Nokia 8 Sirocco is well-equipped for a high-end smartphone. However, you should be aware that the storage capacity of our test unit cannot be expanded with a microSD card. On the internet the Nokia 8 Sirocco is available with Dual-SIM support, which apparently can also be used for a microSD. The pure Android OS means that you have 114 GB of storage available for personal use. This should keep you going for quite a while.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco does not offer a 3.5-mm audio jack. Instead, you can connect headphones via the USB-C port. This port also supports USB-OTG, but no MHL (image output through USB-C).

left: SIM slot
left: SIM slot
right: volume rocker, standby button
right: volume rocker, standby button
bottom: speaker, USB-C port, microphone
bottom: speaker, USB-C port, microphone
top: microphone
top: microphone

Software – pure Android

Nokia uses Android One on all its smartphones, including the Nokia 8 Sirocco. This means that the manufacturer provides a pure version of Android without any big changes to the operating system and that Google promises to provide OS updates for two years. Our Nokia smartphone therefore runs the current version of Google's OS (Android Oreo 8.1) and has all current security patches installed. At the time of writing, these are from the beginning of May 2018. The device has no software pre-installed apart from the usual Google apps and users are free to set up the phone as they wish.

pure Android Oreo on the Nokia 8 Sirocco
pure Android Oreo on the Nokia 8 Sirocco
pure Android Oreo on the Nokia 8 Sirocco

Communication and GPS – average Wi-Fi reception

Of course, it is a must for a high-end smartphone to offer fast Wi-Fi that supports the 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac bands. However, the Nokia 8 Sirocco shows rather moderate reception speeds in our test with the reference router Linksys EA8500. We had already noticed this with the Nokia 8. The transmission rates are on the same level as those of other flagship phones. We felt that pages loaded at average speed during our practical test while images took a while to load at first, but then appeared quite quickly after scrolling for a while. We had full reception close to the router and 50% reception at a distance of 10 meters (~33 ft) and through three walls. However, there were some occasional issues with the connection at this distance and some pages loaded very slowly or not at all. Turning the smartphone to face the router made the pages load faster again.

The LTE speed is decent at up to 600 MBit/s (download) and up to 150 MBit/s (upload) and faster than those of the Nokia 8. However, other devices such as the Sony Xperia XZ2 and the Samsung Galaxy S9 are quite a bit faster. They can reach download speeds of up to 1200 MBit/s. You would need to be sending very large amounts of data and have a mobile network that supports these speeds for these maximum speeds to be noticeable in practice. For example, Vodafone Germany offers a maximum download rate of 500 MBit/s via LTE in theory, but states on its website that independent tests have shown that the average rates in urban areas are 44.53 MBit/s (download) and 18.83 MBit/s (upload). The Nokia 8 Sirocco supports 14 LTE frequencies, which should be enough to find a suitable LTE network when on holiday. Compared to the 21 frequencies the Sony Xperia XZ2 has to offer, on the other hand, this is not much.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Sony Xperia XZ2
Adreno 630, SD 845, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
633 MBit/s +15%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
Adreno 540, SD 835, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
587 MBit/s +7%
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Adreno 540, SD 835, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
550 MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy S9
Mali-G72 MP18, Exynos 9810, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
519 MBit/s -6%
Nokia 8
Adreno 540, SD 835, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
235 MBit/s -57%
Huawei P10 Plus
Mali-G71 MP8, Kirin 960, 128 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
128 MBit/s -77%
iperf3 receive AX12
Sony Xperia XZ2
Adreno 630, SD 845, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
669 MBit/s +141%
Samsung Galaxy S9
Mali-G72 MP18, Exynos 9810, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
652 MBit/s +135%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
Adreno 540, SD 835, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
573 MBit/s +106%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s +35%
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Adreno 540, SD 835, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
278 MBit/s
Nokia 8
Adreno 540, SD 835, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
235 MBit/s -15%
Huawei P10 Plus
Mali-G71 MP8, Kirin 960, 128 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
40.8 MBit/s -85%
GPS test indoors
GPS test indoors
GPS test outdoors
GPS test outdoors

The Nokia phone cannot locate us indoors. It takes some time to position us outdoors, but then offers decent accuracy within 6 meters (~20 ft).

Our bike trip with the Nokia 8 Sirocco and the Garmin Edge 500, a professional navigation system for cyclists, shows very similar results in the measured routes and there seem to be hardly any issues with the smartphone's tracked route. It was actually even more precise than the Garmin Edge during our loop. However, the smartphone seems to have significant difficulties locating us correctly when using Google Maps. It takes very long to recognize our position and even then, the compass always points in the wrong direction. Overall, the Nokia 8 Sirocco can only be recommended with reservations: If you use the navigation function regularly and depend on it, you might not want to rely on this smartphone.

GPS Garmin Edge 500 – overview
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – overview
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – lake
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – lake
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – loop
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – loop
GPS Nokia 8 Sirocco – overview
GPS Nokia 8 Sirocco – overview
GPS Nokia 8 Sirocco – lake
GPS Nokia 8 Sirocco – lake
GPS Nokia 8 Sirocco – loop
GPS Nokia 8 Sirocco – loop

Telephone and Call Quality – a good microphone

Following the Android One philosophy, the Nokia's telephone app is Google's standard app. This Android app is easy to use and offers quite a lot of functions, such as direct access to contacts, a good overview of your call history and the possibility to block certain numbers. The smartphone supports VoLTE, but phone calls cannot currently be made via Wi-Fi.

The call quality is good overall, but the earpiece tends to drone a little at high volume. We did not notice any background noises and the voice of our call partner was transmitted clearly at low and medium volume. We were also impressed by the microphone: It picked up our voice very clearly. The included speakerphone mode transmitted our voices clearly even when talking very quietly.

Cameras – good main dual camera, mediocre front camera

picture taken with front camera
picture taken with front camera
live Bokeh picture taken with main camera
live Bokeh picture taken with main camera

The back of our test unit features a dual camera from Zeiss, while the front has a single lens without LED flash. Let us first talk about the selfie camera, as we were not particularly impressed by it: The pictures taken by the 5-MP sensor have very few details in light areas which leads to strange color transitions. In addition, pictures loose sharpness around the edges. In dark areas, the camera does a good job of lightening up the picture and the screen can also be used as a flash. 

The back camera has a 12-MP wide-angle lens and a second lens with a 13-MP telephoto lens. At f/1.7, the main camera is quite light-sensitive and takes sharp photos even in dark settings, although they could be lightened up more. The Huawei P20 Pro does a significantly better job here. We are happy with the pictures the Nokia smartphone takes under normal lighting conditions. Colors appear natural and sharpness is good, although some details are lost in bright areas. The dual camera with different focal lengths can create a small optical zoom and also improves digital zoom. The camera can also take pictures with the Bokeh effect and has a live preview for this. In our test, this function decreased the sharpness of the main motive significantly.

Videos can be recorded in 4K with the main camera and offer very good image quality and sharpness. In addition, you can record Surround sound via three microphones. The microphones are supposed to create good recordings even in very loud surroundings. There is a slow-motion function that can make videos up to 4x slower. These videos are probably recorded at 120 FPS. The resulting effects are fun but not particularly impressive as they are not that slow.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
click to load images

We did some more tests on the main camera in our lab and photographed our test chart and the ColorChecker Passport. The result was very pleasing: The sharpness of the test chart is good, and the color fields are reproduced clearly. There is only some difficulty with reproducing text on a red background.

Colors could be a little more saturated.

photo of test chart
photo of test chart
detail of test chart
detail of test chart
Photo of ColorChecker Passport. The target color is in the bottom half of each box.
Photo of ColorChecker Passport. The target color is in the bottom half of each box.

Accessories and Warranty – a lot of accessories

HMD Global, the Nokia manufacturer's official name, has included quite a selection of accessories with the phone: There is a QuickCharge power supply plus a USB cable, a headset, a SIM tool and a Quick Start Guide as well as security information in numerous languages. In addition, users also receive a transparent hard plastic case that is definitely a good idea if you want to protect your phone from damage, but somewhat reduces the attractiveness of the smartphone. There are currently no other official accessories available for this phone in the Nokia shop.

The Nokia comes with a 24-month warranty. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices & Handling – a very precise touchscreen

The pre-installed keyboard app is Google's GBoard, which is fast and easy to use and offers the possibility of voice input, swiping instead of typing and changing the design of the keyboard. Other keyboard apps can be downloaded from the Google Play store.

The touchscreen is very fast, and its surface has good gliding properties. It responds reliably even at the curved edges and is easy to handle. It does not offer a glove mode for winter.

There is a fingerprint reader on the back that is easy to find due to its slightly elevated edges. It wakes and unlocks the smartphone from standby quickly and reliably.

The Android buttons are on the screen and the only two hardware buttons (volume rocker and standby button) are positioned on the right side of the case. They are made of the same material as the rest of the frame but are easy to find due to small grooves.

Display – OLED screen with blue cast

subpixel array
subpixel array

The 5.5-inch screen still has a 16:9 format, which is good news for displaying videos, as this format avoids the black strips on either side of the video that 2:1 displays have. The OLED screen is not bezel-free, but looks very elegant due to the curved glass. The resolution is just as high as that of any other current high-end smartphone at 2560x1440 pixels. 

The screen has a brightness of 576 cd/m². This is a good value, but significantly lower than that of the Nokia 8. The Motorola Moto Z2 Force or the Samsung Galaxy S9 are quite a lot darker. The maximum brightness levels can only be reached via the ambient light sensor. If you turn that off, the maximum brightness is limited to 390 cd/m².

The brightness distribution of 85% is not as even as on other devices.

555
cd/m²
575
cd/m²
650
cd/m²
563
cd/m²
576
cd/m²
645
cd/m²
560
cd/m²
599
cd/m²
648
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 650 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 596.8 cd/m² Minimum: 3.28 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 576 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 5.4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.3
Nokia 8 Sirocco
P-OLED, 2560x1440, 5.50
Sony Xperia XZ2
IPS, 2160x1080, 5.70
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
OLED, 2560x1440, 5.50
Samsung Galaxy S9
Super AMOLED, 2960x1440, 5.80
Huawei P10 Plus
LTPS, 2560x1440, 5.50
Nokia 8
IPS, 2560x1440, 5.30
Screen
34%
1%
31%
27%
-16%
Brightness middle
576
630
9%
511
-11%
529
-8%
568
-1%
735
28%
Brightness
597
632
6%
526
-12%
527
-12%
562
-6%
707
18%
Brightness Distribution
85
96
13%
88
4%
96
13%
92
8%
92
8%
Black Level *
0.44
0.43
0.79
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5
1.5
70%
4.3
14%
1.4
72%
2.4
52%
6.7
-34%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
8
4.3
46%
9.6
-20%
4
50%
3.8
52%
12.9
-61%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
5.4
2.1
61%
3.7
31%
1.6
70%
2.5
54%
8.3
-54%
Gamma
2.3 96%
2.17 101%
2.11 104%
2.16 102%
2.37 93%
2.24 98%
CCT
7730 84%
6513 100%
7075 92%
6358 102%
6779 96%
8906 73%
Contrast
1432
1321
930

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 250 Hz

The display backlight flickers at 250 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) .

The frequency of 250 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

We measured PWM flickering at 250 Hz, which can lead to headaches for sensitive users.

The contrast ratio of the screen is perfect due to how it is made: OLED screens can turn off individual pixels completely. As every pixel is illuminated separately, the screen can display almost absolute black.

The spectrophotometer and CalMAN software give us more information on color display: The color deviation is acceptable, but significantly higher than on other expensive smartphones. At least it has been improved slightly compared to the Nokia 8. The grayscales show a significant blue cast at standard settings. 

There are not a lot of possibilities to adjust the white balance, so we only tested the screen in standard mode. You can also activate a blue light filter, which Google calls "Night Light".

CalMAN color accuracy – AdobeRGB
CalMAN color accuracy – AdobeRGB
CalMAN color space – AdobeRGB
CalMAN color space – AdobeRGB
CalMAN grayscales – sRGB
CalMAN grayscales – sRGB
CalMAN saturation – AdobeRGB
CalMAN saturation – AdobeRGB

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 2 ms rise
↘ 2 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 10 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
4.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 2.8 ms rise
↘ 2 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 11 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).
blue cast at the sides
blue cast at the sides
blue cast in center when looking from the side
blue cast in center when looking from the side

The smartphone can be used outdoors, but the screen is quite reflective in very bright surroundings, which makes it hard to read the display. The high maximum brightness improves this slightly and the automatic brightness sensor chooses a suitable level of brightness for the current ambient light. 

The viewing angles appear good at first, but you can see that the colors change behind the curved edges. This is particularly noticeable on white content: If you look at the screen from the front, there is a significant difference between the color on the main screen and the color at the rounded edges - a blue tinge. If you look at the screen from the side, you can see a clear blue cast on the entire display while the rounded edges appear white. The color changes when the blue light filter is activated, but the color deviation remains visible.


outdoor use – brightness sensor
outdoor use – brightness sensor
outdoor use – maximum brightness
outdoor use – maximum brightness
outdoor use – medium brightness
outdoor use – medium brightness
outdoor use – minimum brightness
outdoor use – minimum brightness
viewing angles
viewing angles

Performance – good results

The Snapdragon 835 is not Qualcomm's fastest processor anymore. The successor 845 can be found in the Sony Xperia XZ2, for example. Although the Nokia 8 Sirocco still offers good performance with the Snapdragon 835, you can clearly see the advantage the next generation offers. But still, you will experience no issues or waiting periods with the Nokia smartphone and we are not sure that you would even notice the difference in performance in practice. 

The graphics unit is a Qualcomm Adreno 540. Again, the Nokia 8 Sirocco can keep up quite well with the other models. While the newer generation still has a clear advantage, this is probably not noticeable in day-to-day use.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
185487 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
225663 Points +22%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
179595 Points -3%
Samsung Galaxy S9
217950 Points +18%
Huawei P10 Plus
138326 Points -25%
Nokia 8
177018 Points -5%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (150208 - 185487, n=17)
173235 Points -7%
AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
209729 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
266981 Points +27%
Samsung Galaxy S9
243861 Points +16%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (201881 - 217442, n=8)
208685 Points 0%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
7925 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
9319 Points +18%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
8553 Points +8%
Samsung Galaxy S9
5736 Points -28%
Huawei P10 Plus
7377 Points -7%
Nokia 8
8282 Points +5%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (6854 - 9927, n=20)
7925 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years)
15091 Points +90%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
7193 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
8069 Points +12%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
6998 Points -3%
Samsung Galaxy S9
5291 Points -26%
Huawei P10 Plus
6157 Points -14%
Nokia 8
6959 Points -3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (5603 - 7510, n=20)
6743 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone (9101 - 12871, n=4, last 2 years)
10872 Points +51%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3416 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
3738 Points +9%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
3625 Points +6%
Samsung Galaxy S9
3285 Points -4%
Huawei P10 Plus
2563 Points -25%
Nokia 8
3505 Points +3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (2702 - 3790, n=17)
3367 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points +67%
System (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
5888 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
8402 Points +43%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
5918 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy S9
6234 Points +6%
Huawei P10 Plus
3572 Points -39%
Nokia 8
5671 Points -4%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (4238 - 5926, n=17)
5690 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points +63%
Memory (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3162 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
2193 Points -31%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
3652 Points +15%
Samsung Galaxy S9
2669 Points -16%
Huawei P10 Plus
3331 Points +5%
Nokia 8
3540 Points +12%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (1501 - 4423, n=17)
3137 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points +97%
Graphics (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
6084 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
7868 Points +29%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
6144 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy S9
6373 Points +5%
Huawei P10 Plus
3438 Points -43%
Nokia 8
5958 Points -2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (5791 - 6273, n=17)
6052 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points +128%
Web (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
1202 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
1346 Points +12%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
1300 Points +8%
Samsung Galaxy S9
1099 Points -9%
Huawei P10 Plus
1054 Points -12%
Nokia 8
1262 Points +5%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (1009 - 1329, n=17)
1222 Points +2%
Average of class Smartphone (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points +24%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
1952 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
2464 Points +26%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
1911 Points -2%
Samsung Galaxy S9
3688 Points +89%
Huawei P10 Plus
1852 Points -5%
Nokia 8
1924 Points -1%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (1809 - 1973, n=18)
1917 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (800 - 9574, n=90, last 2 years)
5063 Points +159%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
6701 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
8510 Points +27%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
6711 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy S9
8786 Points +31%
Huawei P10 Plus
6267 Points -6%
Nokia 8
6479 Points -3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (6006 - 6799, n=18)
6515 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone (2630 - 26990, n=90, last 2 years)
13549 Points +102%
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
7865 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
14362 Points +83%
Samsung Galaxy S9
6219 Points -21%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (7462 - 8281, n=13)
7893 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone (2053 - 18432, n=70, last 2 years)
10590 Points +35%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
42040 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
62926 Points +50%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
40848 Points -3%
Samsung Galaxy S9
41093 Points -2%
Huawei P10 Plus
26156 Points -38%
Nokia 8
40968 Points -3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (12604 - 42278, n=20)
37906 Points -10%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
58018 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
80233 Points +38%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
55485 Points -4%
Samsung Galaxy S9
48433 Points -17%
Huawei P10 Plus
33307 Points -43%
Nokia 8
56531 Points -3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (16794 - 58360, n=20)
53776 Points -7%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
21407 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
35856 Points +67%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
21239 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy S9
26851 Points +25%
Huawei P10 Plus
14934 Points -30%
Nokia 8
20951 Points -2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (6729 - 23046, n=20)
19196 Points -10%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3709 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
6378 Points +72%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
4969 Points +34%
Samsung Galaxy S9
3911 Points +5%
Huawei P10 Plus
2229 Points -40%
Nokia 8
4814 Points +30%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (3407 - 5030, n=18)
4583 Points +24%
Average of class Smartphone (712 - 7285, n=52, last 2 years)
3548 Points -4%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
4511 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
8122 Points +80%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
6035 Points +34%
Samsung Galaxy S9
4569 Points +1%
Huawei P10 Plus
2469 Points -45%
Nokia 8
5818 Points +29%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (3682 - 6231, n=18)
5648 Points +25%
Average of class Smartphone (618 - 9451, n=52, last 2 years)
3905 Points -13%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
2287 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
3642 Points +59%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
3071 Points +34%
Samsung Galaxy S9
2600 Points +14%
Huawei P10 Plus
1662 Points -27%
Nokia 8
3002 Points +31%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (1574 - 3092, n=18)
2807 Points +23%
Average of class Smartphone (1093 - 4525, n=52, last 2 years)
3005 Points +31%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3656 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
4693 Points +28%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
3713 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy S9
3244 Points -11%
Huawei P10 Plus
1747 Points -52%
Nokia 8
3655 Points 0%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (2895 - 3810, n=19)
3616 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone (286 - 7890, n=102, last 2 years)
2685 Points -27%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3926 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
5122 Points +30%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
3991 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy S9
3553 Points -10%
Huawei P10 Plus
1767 Points -55%
Nokia 8
3894 Points -1%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (3560 - 4072, n=19)
3907 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone (240 - 9814, n=102, last 2 years)
2675 Points -32%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
2946 Points
Sony Xperia XZ2
3630 Points +23%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
2986 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy S9
2486 Points -16%
Huawei P10 Plus
1679 Points -43%
Nokia 8
3010 Points +2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (1628 - 3157, n=19)
2898 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (858 - 4679, n=102, last 2 years)
3127 Points +6%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
60 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
60 fps 0%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
60 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy S9
60 fps 0%
Huawei P10 Plus
40 fps -33%
Nokia 8
54 fps -10%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (54 - 79, n=19)
60.3 fps +1%
Average of class Smartphone (22 - 165, n=177, last 2 years)
83.6 fps +39%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
106 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
150 fps +42%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
105 fps -1%
Samsung Galaxy S9
144 fps +36%
Huawei P10 Plus
56 fps -47%
Nokia 8
99 fps -7%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (69 - 119, n=18)
107 fps +1%
Average of class Smartphone (19 - 791, n=177, last 2 years)
243 fps +129%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
37 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
59 fps +59%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
36 fps -3%
Samsung Galaxy S9
45 fps +22%
Huawei P10 Plus
29 fps -22%
Nokia 8
31 fps -16%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (29 - 58, n=19)
42.3 fps +14%
Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
71.3 fps +93%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
54 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
82 fps +52%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
54 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy S9
73 fps +35%
Huawei P10 Plus
19 fps -65%
Nokia 8
51 fps -6%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (43 - 64, n=19)
55.2 fps +2%
Average of class Smartphone (9.2 - 363, n=178, last 2 years)
137.9 fps +155%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
24 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
55 fps +129%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
22 fps -8%
Samsung Galaxy S9
24 fps 0%
Huawei P10 Plus
12 fps -50%
Nokia 8
17 fps -29%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (15 - 59, n=19)
29.1 fps +21%
Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 158, n=178, last 2 years)
60.2 fps +151%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
41 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
60 fps +46%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
40 fps -2%
Samsung Galaxy S9
46 fps +12%
Huawei P10 Plus
22 fps -46%
Nokia 8
36 fps -12%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (21 - 43, n=19)
37.9 fps -8%
Average of class Smartphone (6.2 - 279, n=178, last 2 years)
97 fps +137%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
15 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
33 fps +120%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
15 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy S9
14 fps -7%
Huawei P10 Plus
10 fps -33%
Nokia 8
13 fps -13%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (11 - 50, n=19)
19.5 fps +30%
Average of class Smartphone (5 - 117, n=178, last 2 years)
42.9 fps +186%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Nokia 8 Sirocco
26 fps
Sony Xperia XZ2
35 fps +35%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
25 fps -4%
Samsung Galaxy S9
28 fps +8%
Huawei P10 Plus
15 fps -42%
Nokia 8
24 fps -8%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (22 - 26, n=19)
24.5 fps -6%
Average of class Smartphone (2.9 - 166, n=178, last 2 years)
58.6 fps +125%

Legend

 
Nokia 8 Sirocco Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998), Qualcomm Adreno 540, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
Sony Xperia XZ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm Adreno 630, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
Motorola Moto Z2 Force Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998), Qualcomm Adreno 540, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy S9 Samsung Exynos 9810, ARM Mali-G72 MP18, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
Huawei P10 Plus HiSilicon Kirin 960, ARM Mali-G71 MP8, 128 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
 
Nokia 8 Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998), Qualcomm Adreno 540, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash

The browser benchmarks place the Nokia 8 Sirocco in the center field. Surfing is quick enough, but not quite as fast as on other high-end devices, the Sony Xperia XZ2 in particular. Demanding HTML-5 pages such as Google's Interland load quickly and run smoothly.

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Sony Xperia XZ2 (Chrome 65)
89.5 Points +44%
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 104.3, n=2, last 2 years)
85.2 Points +37%
Samsung Galaxy S9 (Samsung Browser 7.0)
67.7 Points +9%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force (Chrome 63.0.3239.111)
66.7 Points +7%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (52.9 - 80.4, n=19)
66.1 Points +6%
Nokia 8 (Chrome 61.0.3163.98)
63.4 Points +2%
Nokia 8 Sirocco (Chrome 66)
62.2 Points
Huawei P10 Plus
58.4 Points -6%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33355 Points +189%
Sony Xperia XZ2 (Chrome 65)
16774 Points +45%
Samsung Galaxy S9 (Samsung Browser 7.0)
15233 Points +32%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force (Chrome 63.0.3239.111)
12929 Points +12%
Nokia 8 Sirocco (Chrome 66)
11544 Points
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (3086 - 14300, n=20)
11209 Points -3%
Nokia 8 (Chrome 61.0.3163.98)
11131 Points -4%
Huawei P10 Plus (Chrome 58.0.3029.83)
10213 Points -12%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Nokia 8 Sirocco (Chrome 66)
4813 ms *
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (2425 - 4813, n=19)
3219 ms * +33%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force (Chrome 63.0.3239.111)
3175 ms * +34%
Nokia 8 (Chrome 61.0.3163.98)
3160 ms * +34%
Huawei P10 Plus (Chrome 58.0.3029.83)
3107 ms * +35%
Sony Xperia XZ2 (Chrome 65)
2394 ms * +50%
Samsung Galaxy S9 (Samsung Browser 7.0)
2078 ms * +57%
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1658 ms * +66%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall
Sony Xperia XZ2 (Chrome 65)
262 Points +28%
Nokia 8 Sirocco (Chrome 66)
204 Points
Nokia 8 (Chrome 61.0.3163.98)
174 Points -15%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) (57 - 204, n=17)
164.4 Points -19%
Samsung Galaxy S9 (Samsung Browser 7.0)
163 Points -20%
Motorola Moto Z2 Force (Chrome 63.0.3239.111)
161 Points -21%
Huawei P10 Plus
140 Points -31%

* ... smaller is better

The storage of the Nokia 8 cannot be expanded. The device is sufficiently quick at accessing its internal storage, but the random write rates are not so good.

Nokia 8 SiroccoSony Xperia XZ2Motorola Moto Z2 ForceSamsung Galaxy S9Huawei P10 PlusNokia 8Average 128 GB UFS 2.1 FlashAverage of class Smartphone
AndroBench 3-5
-8%
63%
1%
144%
-11%
133%
417%
Sequential Read 256KB
738
679
-8%
696
-6%
815
10%
733
-1%
680
-8%
763 ?(427 - 1011, n=112)
3%
1468 ?(215 - 4512, n=210, last 2 years)
99%
Sequential Write 256KB
211.6
198.7
-6%
213.6
1%
206.9
-2%
182.6
-14%
199.1
-6%
295 ?(13.6 - 719, n=112)
39%
1078 ?(57.5 - 3678, n=210, last 2 years)
409%
Random Read 4KB
140.7
149.4
6%
148.8
6%
131
-7%
173.1
23%
145.7
4%
152.4 ?(92.6 - 239, n=112)
8%
242 ?(22.2 - 543, n=210, last 2 years)
72%
Random Write 4KB
22.4
17
-24%
78.6
251%
23.07
3%
149.8
569%
14.57
-35%
130.6 ?(18.2 - 290, n=112)
483%
266 ?(13 - 709, n=210, last 2 years)
1088%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
34.25 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
77.4 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
79.2 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
54 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
76.8 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
76 ?(13.4 - 88.3, n=43)
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
30.12 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
54.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
67.2 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
33.61 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
51.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
59.6 ?(8.4 - 72.4, n=43)

Games – want to game at 60 fps?

There are no issues when gaming at 60 FPS on the Nokia 8 Sirocco: The frame rates of the games we tested with GameBench ("Arena of Valor" and "Shadow Fight 3") are steady with only minimal drops. Simple games such as “Angry Birds 2” can also be played without any issues.

Controlling via the touchscreen and gyroscope works well.

Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor
Shadow Fight 3
Shadow Fight 3
Arena of Valor
 SettingsValue
 min60 fps
 high HD60 fps
  Your browser does not support the canvas element!
Shadow Fight 3
 SettingsValue
 high60 fps
 minimal60 fps
  Your browser does not support the canvas element!

Emissions – high heat development and throttling under load

Temperature

GFXBench battery test
GFXBench battery test

The Nokia Sirocco 8 heats up strongly over the entire screen area under load, while the temperature development is limited to a small area on the back of the phone. Still, a hotspot of up to 42.3°C (~108 °F) on the back is very noticeable and makes putting the smartphone in your pocket after a long period of use rather uncomfortable, particularly in summer. The device hardly heats up while idling with a maximum of 33.7°C (~93 °F).

The high heat development already indicates that the SoC cannot keep up its performance under continuous load. We measured a drop of 23% after about 12 rounds of the Manhattan 3.1 benchmark from GFXBench.

Max. Load
 36.5 °C
98 F
36.9 °C
98 F
37.5 °C
100 F
 
 39.4 °C
103 F
39.9 °C
104 F
38.2 °C
101 F
 
 39.9 °C
104 F
40.8 °C
105 F
39.4 °C
103 F
 
Maximum: 40.8 °C = 105 F
Average: 38.7 °C = 102 F
35.4 °C
96 F
35.4 °C
96 F
35.8 °C
96 F
33.8 °C
93 F
37.5 °C
100 F
40 °C
104 F
33.5 °C
92 F
39.1 °C
102 F
42.3 °C
108 F
Maximum: 42.3 °C = 108 F
Average: 37 °C = 99 F
Power Supply (max.)  31.7 °C = 89 F | Room Temperature 22 °C = 72 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 38.7 °C / 102 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 40.8 °C / 105 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42.3 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 32.1 °C / 90 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
heat map front
heat map front
heat map back
heat map back

Speakers

speaker test Pink Noise
speaker test Pink Noise

The device only has a single speaker on the bottom edge. Its sound profile is very similar to that of the Nokia 8: The maximum volume of 91.1 dB(A) is impressive, but the sound is rather unbalanced with the highs being too strong. A high-end smartphone should be able to offer more, but the overall sound is still decent. Connecting the phone to Bluetooth speakers worked well and the sound was transmitted nicely.

In order to connect a 3.5-mm jack plug, you will need to use the included adapter, as the USB-C port is used for sound output. The sound is transmitted without distortions and is a lot better on high-quality headphones than via the built-in speaker. The Nokia 8 Sirocco does not have a Hi-Res Audio certification, which, nowadays, is disappointing for a high-end smartphone.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2035.242.62532.945.33137.242.74031.739.35039.640.76328.336.18027.334.910026.932.312526.733.81602440.720020.944.825020.949.231519.555.240018.560.250017.563.863017.561.980015.760.5100015.864.1125016.668.7160015.869.7200015.476.7250015.579.631501680.6400015.881.950001681.4630016.384800016.3821000016.279.71250016.482.21600016.474.1SPL28.691.1N1.177median 16.4median 69.7Delta2.212.731.629.525.435.925.33032.930.633.634.431.636.628.437.42741.420.8412243.721.346.120.853.321.256.419.460.119.563.317.764.417.961.717.867.317.373.617.474.116.775.817.278.618.281.817.982.417.686.617.783.817.879.517.977.918.17918.269.63091.61.382median 17.9median 73.61.410.5hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseNokia 8 SiroccoNokia 8
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Nokia 8 Sirocco audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (91.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 27.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.8% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 11.6% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (3.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 55% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 37% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 73% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 21% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Nokia 8 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (91.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 26.6% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (5.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 6.7% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 8% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 38% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 55% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 58% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 36% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Battery Runtimes – very good

Power Consumption

The Nokia 8 Sirocco does a good job at managing its power consumption. While it is not quite as energy-efficient as the Samsung Galaxy S9, it is not too far off and has better results than the Nokia 8. Its maximum consumption of 6.96 watts is quite low and the average consumption under load is also moderate. 

The smartphone does not consume any power when turned off and manages on 0.14 watts when on standby.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.14 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.78 / 1.53 / 1.57 Watt
Load midlight 3.49 / 6.96 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3260 mAh
Sony Xperia XZ2
3180 mAh
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
2730 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S9
3000 mAh
Huawei P10 Plus
3750 mAh
Nokia 8
3090 mAh
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998)
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
-29%
29%
19%
-66%
-33%
-26%
-18%
Idle Minimum *
0.78
0.72
8%
0.52
33%
0.65
17%
1.03
-32%
0.86
-10%
0.852 ?(0.45 - 2.2, n=18)
-9%
0.894 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
-15%
Idle Average *
1.53
2.21
-44%
0.84
45%
0.81
47%
2.61
-71%
2.13
-39%
2.02 ?(0.84 - 4.5, n=18)
-32%
1.452 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
5%
Idle Maximum *
1.57
2.22
-41%
0.85
46%
0.92
41%
2.83
-80%
2.16
-38%
2.12 ?(0.85 - 5.2, n=18)
-35%
1.632 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
-4%
Load Average *
3.49
4.6
-32%
2.71
22%
4.76
-36%
7.03
-101%
4.65
-33%
4.69 ?(2.71 - 8.8, n=18)
-34%
5.55 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-59%
Load Maximum *
6.96
9.34
-34%
7.2
-3%
5.16
26%
10.08
-45%
9.99
-44%
8.46 ?(6.96 - 11.2, n=18)
-22%
8.23 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
-18%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Runtimes

The Nokia 8 Sirocco has longer battery runtimes than the Nokia 8 and a battery capacity of 3.260 mAh. This is enough for 11:33 hours of our Wi-Fi test - a great result that can only be topped by the Huawei P10 Plus. Under maximum load, the phone still lasts over 5 hours. This should easily be enough for a day of use, often even two. If you only activate your smartphone occasionally to surf the web, look at messages or make a short call it should last you even longer. 

The battery can be recharged without a cable or via the included QuickCharge 3.0 power supply. It takes just over 2 hours to recharge the phone fully via QuickCharge.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
26h 43min
WiFi Websurfing
11h 33min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
12h 05min
Load (maximum brightness)
5h 17min
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3260 mAh
Sony Xperia XZ2
3180 mAh
Motorola Moto Z2 Force
2730 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S9
3000 mAh
Huawei P10 Plus
3750 mAh
Nokia 8
3090 mAh
Battery Runtime
-16%
1%
-31%
-7%
-9%
Reader / Idle
1603
1402
-13%
1630
2%
1182
-26%
1655
3%
1506
-6%
H.264
725
722
0%
811
12%
609
-16%
756
4%
733
1%
WiFi v1.3
693
679
-2%
531
-23%
474
-32%
760
10%
650
-6%
Load
317
159
-50%
354
12%
164
-48%
174
-45%
237
-25%

Pros

+ very stable, high-quality case
+ long lasting battery runtime
+ gaming at 60 fps is possible
+ very precise touchscreen
+ good microphone
+ pure Android with update guarantee
+ large storage capacity

Cons

- no 3.5-mm audio jack
- strange behavior in Google Maps
- average Wi-Fi speeds
- selfie camera is not impressive
- strange color effects due to curved screen
- relatively high temperatures under load
- significant throttling after long periods of load

Verdict – The Nokia 8 Sirocco is not a high-end smartphone for everyone

Review: Nokia 8 Sirocco. Test unit provided by notebooksbilliger.de
Review: Nokia 8 Sirocco. Test unit provided by notebooksbilliger.de

The Nokia 8 Sirocco definitely is a smartphone for individualists; Nokia has fulfilled its promise by giving this phone its rather particular name. The phone has all the features of a current high-end mobile phone: Long battery runtimes, high performance, a high-resolution screen, gaming at 60 FPS, a decent dual camera and fast LTE. The case looks very elegant, is extremely stable and also water and dust resistant.

But the Sirocco is not perfect: Nokia would have had to find a better solution for the strange color effect the display causes on white content, dealt with the strange GPS behavior in Google Maps and equipped the device with a better front camera. The speakers can be turned up very loud, but the sound is unbalanced and there is no Hi-Res Audio certification. Heat development is quite strong under load and the SoC performance is not constant and drops significantly after a short period of time under load.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is not perfect, but it is a good high-end smartphone for individualists.

Despite its weaknesses, the Nokia 8 Sirocco has style and can also offer a lot of advantages, including a generous set of accessories and pure Android with update guarantee. Therefore, we can recommend the Nokia 8 Sirocco to everyone who is ready to accept the weaknesses mentioned above in exchange for something different from the normal run-of-the-mill models.

Nokia 8 Sirocco - 09/03/2022 v7
Florian Wimmer

Chassis
89%
Keyboard
66 / 75 → 88%
Pointing Device
93%
Connectivity
48 / 70 → 69%
Weight
90%
Battery
89%
Display
84%
Games Performance
39 / 64 → 61%
Application Performance
58 / 86 → 67%
Temperature
88%
Noise
100%
Audio
71 / 90 → 79%
Camera
65%
Average
75%
82%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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Florian Wimmer, 2018-05-29 (Update: 2020-05-19)